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Saturday, September 1, 2012

I'm Energized Already!

It's nap time for my two year old, so while I have a few minutes, I thought I'd pick up and flip through Chris Lehman's new book , Energize Research Reading and Writing,but I can't put it down. My mind is already swirling with ideas. This book is so current, timely, and practical. Chris organizes the chapters with lessons, differentiated learning ideas, and student work samples. I'll leave you hanging for now, but keep you interested with a few of my favorite quotes so far:

"This is an argument for making our teaching of research warmly invite our children and young adults into the fold of inquisitive, innovative thinkers. It is intended to teach research skills in ways that encourage engagement and independence" (Lehman, 2).

"Taking time to teach students to research well is taking time to teach them the skills of the standards. Teaching students to research well is teaching them to learn well" (Lehman, 3).

"What I have learned from living within communities of educators is that good teaching is good teaching, no matter what the content... The difference comes not in how you teach, but in what you say- both the language you use and the rigor of strategies" (Lehman 4).

"No matter how well executed a lesson, how engaging and clear, if students cannot read the texts they have in their hands they simply cannot apply your teaching" (Lehman, 11).

"To help our students transfer what we are teaching into their own practice, we need to ensure that we are as explicit and clear in our teaching as possible. Having a balance between demonstrating a strategy and explaining the parts of it helps to achieve just this" (Lehman, 14).

"The goal is the thinking involved, not the perfect enactment of the strategy I showed" (Lehman, 14).

And I'm just through Chapter 3! This is just the prescription I needed to energize me into my non-fiction unit coming up. Thanks, Chris!